Ottawa International Animation Festival
If you like to second-guess jury decisions, Ottawa '96 was the perfect animation festival for you. Almost as good as the O.J. Simpson trial. Even the Grand Prize Winner engaged in some public secondguessing.Ottawa award winners, Igor Kovalyov, Pritt Parn and Paul Dressien.When Russian animator Igor Kovalyov came forward to accept his best film of the festival trophy for Bird in the Window, he was suitably gracious if somewhat stunned. He thought Priit Parn would win it for his film 1895.
This was the perfect ending to an enjoyable animation festival that featured some peculiar choices for...
Editor's Notebook
Reynard the Fox and the Jew Animal
The Dutch film industry's most ambitious production during World War II was an anti-Semitic sequel to Reynard the Fox. Egbert Barten and Gerard Groeneveld detail the fascinating story behind the film's production.
Icelandic Animation
Animation in Iceland is a relatively recent (and mostly hidden) phenomenon. Giannalberto Bendazzi provides an look at frame-by-frame filmmaking in the island nation.
The View From Hollywood
Raimund Krumme, one of Germany's top independent animators who is now working on a feature version of a children's classic, talks about Hollywood and the challenges posed by his new project.
The Politics of Protectionism: The Cartoon Forum
Jill McGreal discusses the politics of funding for animation via the European Union's CARTOON initiative, which is trying to create the infrastructure for a transnational industry.
The Case of Hans Fischerkoesen
Hans Fischerkoesen, Germany's leading producer of animated commercials, was ordered to make theatrical cartoons by the government in World War II, as William Moritz notes, he produced a trio of remarkable films which were not exactly Nazi propaganda.
Momotaro's Gods-Blessed Sea Warriors: Japan's Unknown Wartime Feature
Fred Patten takes a look at Japan's first animated feature, a propaganda tract made at the behest of the country's military government.
Leaving Home
Linda Simensky ruminates on the political and other consequences of changing jobs amidst today's boom times in the animation industry.
Fight To The Death, But Don't Hurt Anybody! Memories of Political Correctness
Tom Sito, fresh from his gig as head of story on Disney's Pocohantas, details his experiences over the years trying to be politically correct.
Editor's Notebook
SIGGRAPH 96
SIGGRAPH, held between August 4-9, at the Morial Convention Center, in New Orleans, is the world's largest and most prestigious computer technology event dealing with computer graphics and interactive techniques, of which animation plays a major part. The annual conference is put on by what was once known as the Association for Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics (i.e., SIGGRAPH). This year marked the 23rd running of the big daddy of all computer graphic conferences, which acts as a showcase for all the newest and greatest achievements in computerized...
Hiroshima 96, Journal de bord
Monique Renault (Pays-Bas).Jeudi 22, premier jour du festival Arriv hier apr avoir survolla moitidu monde sans en avoir vu grand chose. Si. Taiwan. C'est beaucoup plus grand que je ne l'imaginais. Pour moi, Taiwan c'etait un amoncelement de petits ateliers oles gens s'entassent pour fabriquer des faux Dior, des fausses Rayban ou Adidas ... Apparemment ils ont aussi des montagnes et de la verdure.
Je suis contente de revenir Hiroshima. En mai dernier, pour la selection - ah! la section! - j'avais douvert le...
TV's Fall Animation Lineup
A special report from Pamela Schechter detailing what's new and what's being renewed in animation on American television this coming season.
Listen Up, It's Playtime
The GiggleBone Gang is alive and well at Seattle-based Headbone Interactive. Judith Shane explains it all.
So You Wanna Be an Animation Executive?
Cori Stern provides a test to see if you too can join the executive ranks at the animation company of your choice.
Nickelodeon Goes Global
Michael Goldman talks to Nickelodeon International's Lisa Judson about how the cable network that redefined animation for the 90s is expanding around the world.
Hiroshima Diary
Translated by William MoritzMonique Renault (Netherland).Thursday, August 22, First Day of the Festival Arrived yesterday after having flown halfway around the world without seeing very much of it. Yes, Taiwan. It's much bigger than I had imagined. I thought Taiwan was just a pile of little workshops where people made counterfeit Diors, false Raybans or Adidas ... Evidently there are also mountains and greenery.
I'm happy to be back in Hiroshima. Last May, for the selection of films--Ah! that selection!--I discovered Japan. You encounter the politeness of the Japanese while working,...
Editor's Notebook
Locomotion: The Animation Network
America's Hearst Entertainment and Venezuela's Cisneros Group are combining forces to form a new, 24-hour-a-day animation channel for Latin America. Harvey Deneroff reports.
The Cockroaches of Joe's Apartment
Author John Berger has observed that the only other living things that will survive alongside human evolution will be those which humans eat (like cows and chickens) and the cockroach. As Ralph, the lead cockroach in John Payson's unconventional feature film, Joe's Apartment has prophesied, after the bomb drops, roaches will rule the world. The idea of using the most universally loathed insect as a means to examine the landscape of human relatedness to other humans and the world they inhabit, questions the belief of human vitality and longevity. As a species, we are extremely...